Chile 2017

On Wednesday the team had the pleasure of going to the town (Pueblo) of Melipeuco....about two hours S.E. of Lautaro. There is a church that was planted about 6 yearsago. Currently they are renting this building as well as a house for the pastor.

The church has recently purchased a lot within 6 blocks of their current location.

The first projects are to remove (disarm) the existing structure and build a "parsonage" to minimize out going costs for rent. Sooooo..... this is what we worked on......beginning to tear down the structure and others prepping for concrete.......yes.....more concrete!

Many hands are supposed to make the job lighter.....in our case ...it might mean....."Pile on more work" :)

​Pastor Luis was very grateful. In the short day we worked there he estimates we saved the church about three weeks worth of work.

IberoAmerica has a temporary structure they "pass around" as needed for situations like this. The church will meet there until the permanant structure is built. The vision is that the church be used as a community center also.Additionally, a future building will be used to teach marketable trades the area needs......and all with the thought of outreach to the community.

The ladies of the church provided "once" (pronounced ooon say)and we had about an hour to hit a couple of local attractions before heading back to Lautaro.

Hard to believe our time here is almost over. This morning we finally finished tying the cages for the columns. This area will be showers, restrooms, and the kitchen. The walls will be filled in with brick between the columns. ​

The men were removing the forms from the footings we poured Monday. Hopefully they can finish tomorrow.

In the afternoon we went to Party's house where we are finishing her laundry room walls and extending a car port.

​ Patty was recently widowed. She is a wonderful sister in Christ and uses her home for hosting work teams. We all enjoyed "once" before the team left.

Blessed are the flexible for they shall be flexed, that is our team motto.The information we had for going to Lautaro was to install insulation in the school.... We haven't seen the insulation yet, we are flexed.

Sunday was an emotional day at the Lautaro church. An American couple that has been living and working as missionaries for 6 years here, have taken an assignment to Sierra Leone. Most of the regular attendees of this fellowship turned out to say goodbye. There was a variety of nationalities….French, North Americans, Chilean nationals and Mapuche.It seems like the size of the church may have doubled in the last two years.

After church the team changed clothes and set to work preparing .the areas where concrete is to be poured on Monday. There is a stem wall for the lunch room and cafeteria as well as a slab for a music studio. Music is a huge part of social life in South America and Pastor Miguel and his staff believe a local studio will be a great way to reach another part of the community.Monday will be our first full day of work. So…..you’ve prayed for our safe trip down here…….and that’s been accomplished. Now we ask prayers for common sense to know when to stop pushing our middle aged bodies to point of injury….we just see so much that can be done…………and most of it is done the hard way Until tomorrow…………………… :)

Today the team along with the Chileans are preparing for a concrete pour that will become the kitchen. We have two trucks coming in, where all the concrete will be poured by using wheelbarrows. There are a lot of steel cages to prepare to reinforce the foundation. We are all becoming iron workers.

​Hola’ from Lautaro Chile; Our first day in country we were looking around to see what’s been done since we were last here and we are amazed at what HAS been done. The school has been mostly enclosed and the class rooms are starting to take shape. Progress has been really good in the last year. Along with looking at the school we are getting reacquainted with the people of the church. The Lord has a reason for the school to be here but it’s all about what the Lord has in mind for the people of Lautaro…… we are glad to be a part of that. Many relationships have been made here in Chile with the teams that have been here in the past, the current teams. This continues to be a blessing for the Chileans as well as us. In book of Ephesians it talks about the unity of the body of Christ and we can see it here by the way we are received and the hospitality that is consistently extended to us. Our common goal is to share the gospel and we do this here by continuing to lay foundations, installing sheet rock, and other assigned projects that will keep us busy through the next week.

​Paul, John and Oscar…..they might look like a singing group but are an important part of the current cement project.

​ This is the worship center where the church meets on Sundays.

These are incomplete classrooms….we may be installing sheet rock ( here the locals call it “vulcanista”) depending on time and project priorities.

After months of praying, preparing, and planning our departure date is here. Please pray for the team as we travel south to Lautaro Chile. The team will be working on the finishing touches necessary to ready the first classrooms for the March 2018 school year. Team ChileFront Row: Tom Kepler, John Leskajan, Paul Lee, Mika LeskajanBack Row: Scott Wallace, Rick Seaton, Don Fisk, Sharon FiskNot pictured, Maggie Leskajan

Please pray for our safe travels, health of the team and that The Lord will be glorified in all we do.Thank you for your continued support and prayers!Blessings,Team Chile 2017